“I’m not so sure of that. Appearances are pretty bad.”
“Egad, you’re cool, Ma’am!—But I forgot—you don’t care tuppence what people think as long as they don’t think what’s true. But, damn it all, there’s your family to be considered as well as yourself.”
“Is it that you want to marry Charles Smith?” asked Peter. “If she does, Sir, it’s hardly fair to make her risk....”
“Listen to me!” George had spoken at last—the voice of morality and religion was lifted from the chesterfield. “You must realise that if the decree is given against her, she will not be free in the eyes of the Church to marry again. Whereas if she gets a decree against her husband, she would find certain of the more moderate-minded clergy willing to perform the ceremony for the innocent partner.”
“I don’t see that,” said Peter rudely—“she’d be just as innocent if she lost the suit.”
“She wouldn’t be legally the innocent partner,” said George, “and no clergyman in the land would perform the ceremony for her.”
“Which means that the Church takes the argument from law and not from facts.”
“No—no. Not at all. In fact, the Church as a whole condemns, indeed—er—forbids the re-marriage of divorced persons. But the Church of England is noted for toleration, and there are certain clergy who would willingly perform the ceremony for the innocent partner. There are others—men like Luce, for instance—who are horrified at the idea of such a thing. But I’ve always prided myself on——”
“Hold your tongue, George,” broke in his father, “I won’t have you and Peter arguing about such rubbish.”
“I’m not arguing with him, Sir. I would scarcely argue with Peter on an ecclesiastical subject. In the eyes of the Church——”